There were three entrances to the place, one more if you counted through a skylight on the roof, which they did. Nico, Bane, and Silver were in the process of scaling the walls right now to go through that way. “In position, boss,” Nico muttered.
“Phoenix?”
“Setting up some toys now, boss lady,” came the gruff reply. “Trigger and I got this. Done in ten minutes tops, and then we will take up our positions in the trees to help pick the fuckers off when they come out.”
“Everyone ready?” Angel growled.
Jaxson glanced back at Dax, Sable, and Rubi before growling, “Let’s do this.” The four of them were going in the south door strong, their main goal to take out what came at them, and then find their way down to where Jinx had told them she was hidden, way beneath the building. Everyone else would be fanning out throughout the place, removing it of evil assholes and rescuing any innocents they found on the way.
“Go!”
On Angel’s command, Jaxson opened the door, slipping inside, the others right behind him. They raced down the long corridor, not seeing anyone on the way. Turning at the end, they headed swiftly toward the stairwell only a few yards away.
“We’re in, Alpha,” Aiden said, “but it’s quiet here.”
“Too quiet,” Angel agreed. “We haven’t run into anyone, yet.”
“Neither have we,” Dax reported. “Either this is a setup, or they know we’re here.”
“It’s not a setup,” Jaxson said quietly, rushing to the stairs and taking them two at a time to the lower levels of the building. “I trust Jinx with my life.”
“Do you trust him with my sister’s?” Rubi asked, on his heels.
“I don’t trust anyone with my mate,” Jaxson growled, leaping over the railing to land a whole floor down.
“Me neither,” Dax snarled, following him down. “Something isn’t right.”
“Found what looks like the General’s hospital room,” Ryker snarled. “The fucker’s gone. Looks like he left in a hurry.”
“They knew we were coming,” Silver growled.
“No, I don’t think they did,” Chase said thoughtfully. “There’s still ice in this cup. They must have some sort of security further away from the building that we missed. I bet they left the soldiers outside thinking they would fight us off and give them more time to run.”
“Fuck!” Jaxson snarled, leaping over the side of another railing to scale the stairs faster. “How the hell did they get out of here?”
“I don’t know, but this place is a fucking ghost town,” Xavier put in. “Shit’s not right.”
“Get out,” Angel ordered darkly. “Everyone, they have to have some kind of failsafe in case something like this happens. I don’t trust it. Get out, now.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Raven!” Jaxson snarled.
“You got that right, wolf!” Dax ground out next to him. “Everyone else, go. We will find my sister.”
“Bullshit,” Sable growled, following them deeper underground.
“Dammit, Jaxson, I am ordering you. Get the hell out of there, now!”
Jaxson had never defied a direct order in his life, but he was about to. There was no way he was leaving his mate to die in this place. “Sorry, Angel. Can’t do it. She’s here. I know she is.”
“They could have taken her with them.”
“They didn’t,” he said in complete certainty.
“How do you know?” Chase demanded.
“I can feel her.”
“I feel her, too!” Rubi cried, rubbing at her chest. “Oh, the fates! She’s in so much pain!”
“Angel and I will go down with them,” Chase decided. “Everyone else, get the hell out of here. Cover us from the outside.”
“I don’t like this,” Bane muttered. “I’m coming with you.”
“Bane, stand down,” Angel growled.
“No can do, boss. You can reprimand me later, but something is pulling me down these stairs. I couldn’t go back up, even if I wanted to.”
“Storm and I are coming with you, too, Angel.”
“Well, fuck!” Angel snarled, and Jaxson knew she was beyond pissed. They were going to get an ass chewing if they got out of this alive. “Why don’t you all come? We’ll make it one big fucking party!”
Jaxson ignored them, putting on a burst of speed when he reached the very bottom of the stairs. It was dark, dank, and cold as hell down there, and rage filled him at the thought of Raven being held in a place like this. He needed to get to her.
“Over there!” Rubi cried when they entered another room that ran half the length of the building.
Jaxson looked at the wall lined with what looked like jail cells, and his heart began to pound when he saw they were all empty, except for the very last one. There was someone lying on the floor in the back of it, and they didn’t look like they were moving.
“Raven!” he hollered, sprinting across the room and grasping the bars tightly, praying it was her. He tried to yank the door open, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Move, wolf,” Dax growled, grasping the bars and pulling on them with a large roar.
“Raven! Oh, Raven! What have they done to you?”
The woman slowly opened her eyes, and Jaxson found himself staring into amber ones, identical to Rubi’s, except they were dulled with pain. She blinked them once, then again, and he watched as a tear slipped free, but still, she didn’t move.
“Raven, we’re here. We’re going to get you out of there,” Jaxson promised.
“I can’t budge the fucking thing,” Dax snarled. “Maybe if I shift.”
“No!” Raven gasped hoarsely, reaching out toward them. She cried out, more tears coming as she whispered, “No shifting. He doesn’t know what we are.”
“He’s gone, little sister,” Dax promised. “He won’t find out.”
“Cameras,” she rasped. “He’s watching us. Always watching, except when my friend messes with them.”
“I don’t give a fuck if he knows what we are,” Dax snarled. “I’m getting you out of there!”
“No!” she cried, holding open her hand slowly. “Key.”
“Shit, how are we going to get it?” Rubi asked when Raven’s eyes closed weakly.
“There’s got to be something around here we can use,” Bane said as he came into the room and crossed over to them. He paused, sniffing slightly, his eyes narrowing on Raven. Getting closer to them, he inhaled deeply, then asked, “Who else has been here?”
Raven opened her eyes, licking her dry lips, before whispering, “Amber and her sister.”
“Sister?”
“Ebony,” Angel clarified, stalking over to them. Squatting down in front of the cell, she looked at Raven. “Raven, I’m Angel, Jaxson’s alpha.”
“Jaxson,” Raven breathed, tears filling her eyes again. “He’s real?”
“I’m right here, baby.”
Her gaze moved over to him, and she reached for him, crying out in pain.
“Shhh, it’s going to be okay,” Jaxson whispered. “We’re going to get you out of there.”
“You came for me.”
“Always,” he promised.
Raven gulped, her eyes going from him to Angel. “You all came. He said you would.”
“You better believe it,” Angel said, smiling gently. “We never leave family behind. Now, let’s figure out how to get you on the right side of these bars, okay?” When Raven agreed, she asked, “Do you think you can move closer to us, Raven?”
Raven nodded weakly, and then began to move toward them, sliding her body along the hard floor, inch by slow painful inch. When Jaxson would have protested, Angel placed a hand on his arm. “There is no other way,” she said quietly. “We need to get out of here now. She’s in too much pain to throw it over, and no one here has found anything to get it with.”
“But she’s hurting,” Jaxson protested.
“My sister is strong,” Rubi whispered, moving in close to him. �
�She can do this.”
“I hope she hurries,” Nico said, entering the room with Flame and Silver. “This place is wired to blow, and I’m not talking about Phoenix’s toys.”
“Go!” Raven demanded, through tears of pain. “I won’t have all of you giving your lives for me. I can’t be the cause of any more death.”
“No!” Rubi cried, grasping the bars in front of her. “Fight, sister. For me. For us. I need you!”
“Fuck that!” Jaxson snarled, baring his teeth. “I am not leaving here without you!”
She stared at him, eyes wide, and then rested her head against the floor for a moment. When her gaze met his again, it was full of determination. “You won’t have to,” she vowed, beginning to slide across the floor toward him again. Her eyes never left his as she moved, even though he could tell how much pain she was in, could smell it.
“I am so fucking proud of you, mate,” he growled, reaching toward her through the bars. “You are amazing. A fighter. Mine.”
Raven gritted her teeth and pushed forward with her feet, fighting her way to him, and suddenly she was there. “Jaxson,” she gasped when their fingers touched. She dropped the key to the floor, resting her forehead on it. “I made it.”
“Damn right you did, little sister,” Dax said, slipping his hand inside the cell to touch her head. “I’m proud of you, too.”
Jaxson grabbed the key and stood, quickly shoving it into the lock and turning it. Moments later, he was kneeling beside his mate, afraid to touch her. There was blood everywhere, some dried, some seeping through incisions on her body. “Is this from the yesterday?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “They aren’t healing.”
“You need to shift,” Angel said, kneeling down on her other side.
“Not here,” Raven protested, with a small shake of her head. “I will never give that bastard the satisfaction of letting him know what kind of shifter I am. Screw him!”
“There’s my sister!” Rubi said, with a small fist bump in the air, before she knelt down next to Jaxson. “What do you say we get out of here, Raven? I’m ready to go home.”
Raven nodded weakly, reaching for Jaxson. “Yes, please.”
“Boss lady, you have five minutes to get the hell out of there before the place goes boom,” Phoenix yelled through the comms. “I found the General’s bomb, but this baby is special made. If I touch it, your five minutes could turn into zero quickly.”
Jaxson slipped his hands under Raven, gently turning her over and lifting her into his arms. He swore when she screamed in pain, swearing again when her face twisted in agony. “Fuck, baby. I’m so sorry.”
“Jaxson, run!” Angel yelled, following Flame and Silver out of the room and up the stairs.
Holding Raven close, Jaxson ran. It tore him up inside every time she cried out in pain, but he blocked it out and flew up the stairs three at a time, Sable and Rubi in front of him, Dax and Bane bringing up the rear. No sooner did they make it out into the open, then the bomb detonated and the building seemed to implode in on itself.
“Run!” Chase yelled, racing away from the wreckage, his pack on his heels. Jaxson soon realized why there were more explosions as loud chaos splitting the air. Phoenix’s toys had come out to play, too.
“Holy shit!” Sable yelled, running alongside him. “Overkill much, Phoenix?”
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Phoenix hollered with a grin, streaking past them.
It was ten more minutes before they were far enough away from the destruction that Angel felt safe enough for them to slow their pace, and another fifteen before they came across the vehicles they’d hidden when they first arrived. Jaxson climbed into the middle of one of the SUVs, holding his mate close as he waited for everyone else to pile in. Bane slid in beside him and slammed the door shut, and soon they were on their way to the airport.
Jaxson glanced down, and found himself staring into wide, brightly shining amber eyes. A tear slipped out, and he leaned down and caught it with his lips. “What is it, baby? Are you in pain?” Shaking his head, he sighed. “Stupid question. I know you are. I can feel how much you hurt.”
“It’s not that,” Raven whispered, a soft sob in her throat. “I think the General is going to kill my friend. She got me through everything, Jaxson. She held me when I was hurting, made me eat and drink when I didn’t want to. Made me fight when I just wanted to give up. She’s the kindest person I know, and she is going to die because of me. Because her sister caught her trying to help me after the last time the scientists hurt me.”
“You’re talking about Amber, aren’t you?” Angel ask quietly from the front seat.
Raven’s eyes flew to hers, and she winced in pain. “Yes. I know she’s the General’s daughter, but she’s a good person.”
“We know,” Jaxson promised her, kissing her gently on the top of her head.
“You do?”
Raven’s eyes came back to his, and he couldn’t resist dropping a kiss on her lips. “Yes, she’s helped us in the past, too. She saved Steele and Storm when they were being held prisoner in Alaska and experimented on not too long ago.”
“And she helped me,” Chase said from the driver’s seat. “She saved me, like she saved you, Raven. We aren’t going to just sit back and let the General take her life.”
“It might be too late,” Raven whispered, burying her head in Jaxson’s chest and letting her eyes drift shut as she thought about her friend. “Amber was standing between us. Ebony wanted to hurt me, but Amber wouldn’t move. Ebony gave her a choice, either move or she would take her to the General and let him decide her punishment for helping me.” More tears leaked out as she told them, “Amber chose the General.”
10
“Get her prepped for surgery, now!”
“Yes, doctor.”
“I want…”
Raven tuned out whatever else was said. She lay still, listening to the voices around her, but not comprehending their words as terror filled her while she waited for the first slice into her skin. She felt the cold metal against her back, and a bright light shone down on her from above, blinding her. She didn’t recognize the voices or scents of the people in the room, but that wasn’t anything new. The General was constantly changing employees. There was a new face torturing her every other week. When she felt a hand on her arm, she began to struggle. Pain shot through her stomach, and she screamed his name long and loud, the man she knew would save her. Somehow, he would come. “Jaxson!”
“Hush, Raven,” a soft voice said, that hand rubbing her arm gently. “You’re safe now.”
Safe? She wouldn’t be safe until he was in the room. Where was he? “Jaxson!” she screamed again, the sound ripping from her raw throat as she tried to pull away from the woman’s soothing touch. She didn’t want to be soothed by someone who was getting ready to dig into her. She wanted her mate, needed him. He was the only one who would make her feel safe. “Jaxson!”
“What the hell is going on in here?” Raven stiffened in fear, her entire body shaking at the deep voice.
“Jaxson,” Raven sobbed, moving to scramble off the cold metal table. She gasped when her legs buckled underneath her, crying out in pain when she fell to the floor.
“Raven, please, you have to calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Hurt herself? Didn’t they know she was always in pain? It never went away, no matter how long in between their visits. Then she paused in confusion. Why would they care? The scientists had never cared before. They inflicted as much pain as they wanted, never worried about how she felt or how it affected her.
“Back away from her, Jade,” the deep, male voice ordered. “She’s confused. She might hurt you on accident.”
Raven almost laughed at that. She couldn’t fight her way out of a wet paper sack, how was she going to hurt the woman?
“Tell us what you need, Raven. We’ll get it for you.”
Would they? There was only one way to find out.
Lifting her head, she stared at the man in front of her, frowning when she saw that he looked familiar. “Jaxson,” she whispered, her entire body shaking in fear. “I need Jaxson.”
“Raven? Baby, I’m right here.”
Her gaze went to the man who stood in the open doorway, and her breath caught in her throat. It was him. She would recognize his voice any day. As she stared at him, her memory slowly started to come back. He’d come for her with his team and his pack, just like he said he would. Dax and Rubi had been with him, too. They’d saved her.
“Jaxson?”
He slowly crossed the room and knelt in front of her, reaching out to trail a finger softly down her face. “I’m right here, sweet mate,” he said, leaning over to nuzzle her cheek gently with his. “You’re safe.”
When he pulled back to look at her, she raised her hand to cup his hard jaw. He was beautiful, with short, dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a smile that made her heart flutter. And he was hers. “I am now,” she whispered.
“Jaxson, we need her back on the table,” the doctor said softly. When Raven glanced in her direction, the woman smiled and squatted down beside her. “Hey, Raven. I’m Doc Josie, the doctor for the White River Wolves. I promise, I’m not trying to hurt you, and I am so sorry that we scared you.”
“You were going to cut into me,” Raven whispered softly, swallowing hard and moving toward Jaxson. “Like the scientists do.”
“Not to hurt you, sweet dragon,” the doctor said gently. “To help you.” Standing, she motioned for Jaxson to help Raven up as she went on, “It seems whatever they did to you this last time left some places inside you that I need to stitch up. You have internal bleeding, which is one of the reasons you aren’t healing on your own.”
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